Wednesday, August 22, 2007

There's Always Room For Jello

There better be, because of test prep - that's all I'm allowed to eat until 1:00pm tomorrow. Since 10:00 this morning, all I have had is wonton soup (without the wontons) and Jello. One "bright" spot, I can have black coffee.....

Fan-freaking-tastic.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Where is Dr. House When You Need Him?

I can't describe the depth of how ill I was today. It was bad. All I wanted was someone to rip out my insides, bathe them in cold water and then put them back in.

Being stressed a bit at work did not help the situation at all. It's the time of year where we really have to gear up for the new school year. The kids come back in a couple of weeks - damn, the summer went fast! It's a lot of work preparing for the start of a school year.

When I got home, I managed to eat something and keep it down/in - then passed out from 5:15 until 8:30. It's now almost 11:30 and I'm ready to pass out again. There has to be an end to this. I'll find out in a few days - Thursday is the "big tests day". Maybe then I will stop feeling like I am going to burst into tears every few hours.

It's upsetting to me that there are people I know that don't understand the side effects of my condition. I had someone say offhandedly to me this weekend "Boy, you are high maintenance", "You and your muffins" - all because I needed something - anything - to eat so that I wouldn't get sick. It was said in the tone of voice usually reserved for people like... Paris Hilton.. all because I needed a muffin/bagel. This is someone who once saw for themselves just how sick I can become if I don't eat (I've almost passed out twice in public). It really hurt my feelings. I don't think I will be spending much time with this person anymore. No great loss.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Time in New England... Took Me Away...

Well... ok, for a few hours at least. One of the great things about my job is the staggering amount of paid time off I get. So Friday and Saturday I was able to take the day and spend some time with friends in upstate NY and, MOST importantly - go to Williamstown, MA to see Raul Esparza as the Stage Manager in a reading of " Our Town". He was great and took the part in a much more congenial and playful direction than other productions. It was very well done. The actors assembled for the production were fantastic.

It was a really busy weekend!


The drive up was a little frustrating early on because of construction, but I had a great stress relieving laugh at the rest stop. It was the type of ladies room where the ventilation system was very old, loud and noisy. I had just walked in when an older woman with a very pronounced Long Island accent proceded to proclaim.... "Oh... I'm so glad it's not quiet in here, this way I can pass gas and no one will hear". Yeah... saying it that loudly sort of defeats the purpose of your thought....


While driving back, my eye was drawn to a small grassy patch about 20 feet from the road. There were about 6 or 7 moving lumps - I thought they were gophers or something similar, but it turns out they were wild turkeys. I hadn't seen them since I lived up in the area. When I got home, I made sure the cats and the fish were fed - and then I was off again!

I am very proud of my cousin. She is a very bright young woman from California who received a full scholarship from George Washington University, and she was visiting her aunt (my cousin) before she went down to DC - so I drove and hour and a half to see her. WELL worth the trip - she is wonderful.


I figured this was a good opportunity to see the parents - so we went to dinner and a movie. I got home around midnight (my day started FRIDAY at 6am !!) and promptly passed out.


Today, after some major house cleaning/re-arranging AND baking some goodies for friends - I had the pleasure of going with said friends to see the closing performance of Luisa Strus' one woman show. It was part of the Fringe Festival. She was incredibly engaging as she recounted parts of hers, and her parent's lives. She is definitely one to watch!


Even though weekends like this physically tire the hell out of me .... I know that life is too short and you have to push yourself as long as you can and make the most of it.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Sometimes... "The System" Works

For the past year I have been living with a personal legal issue that has had me tied up in knots and had effected every single facet of my life. Something like this puts a future on hold until it is resolved.

When I came home from work, I ate something and then for some reason decided the kitchen needed a good going over. After taking out the garbage, I spotted my mail on the counter and realized I hadn't even given it a second glance. I turned the envelope over and.... there it was. The address of the court on the upper left hand corner..... I've been excited, nervous - and dreading the arrival of this envelope for three months. This issue was what my journey to Newark was all about: Newark on $25.50 A Day.

I opened the envelope with my eyes closed ... a little dramatic, I know - but I did. There in bold letters was the decision in my favor. I now have my future back - if that makes sense.

Like any good Jewish girl, the first thing I did was call my mother.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Wii - diculous

Last night I had my first introduction to the phenomenon that is Wii. Two words... video game crack. I get the hoopla and the potential for accidents... more on that in a minute.

I'm not really a "gamer" - I play around with my SIMS, Grim Fandango and some trivia games, but that's really it. If I had the Wii system, there would be the possibility of never leaving my apartment.

We all "bowled" the entire evening without leaving the comfort of the livingroom. It's so easy to forget the motions you need to use can cause mishaps. During the game the system consistently reminds you to use the remote with the wriststrap. There is a good reason for this. it can indeed fly out of your hand fairly easily if your palm gets sweaty, or if the remote gets schmutzy. You also have to be careful of objects in the way of your motion. The combination of a ceiling fan, my height and my hand proved to be one of these lessons in paying attention! Needless to say, it amused the participants.

It was quite a fun evening and I'm looking forward to my next fix :-)


Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Payin' the RENT Again

When I wrote that last Tuesday's performance of RENT was perfect..... it was - until I went again last night.

This was a very powerful evening. Within a week, the cast managed to somehow raise the level of their performances to a new height. The entire group was explosive and it was riviting. The emotional quotient that Adam, Anthony and Tamyra have brought to their roles is astonishing.

When I went last week, I thought Tamyra was good, but lacked the conviction of her role. Last night, she found "Mimi". Her body language was dead on as was her ability to convey the myriad of emotions the part calls for. Nice work!

Adam and Anthony.... stepped it up yet again. The raw power of Adam's ability to channel Roger is beyond explanation. Now that it is ten years down the line, he brings an obvious maturity and evolution in his acting to the part and it shows. His performance was the perfect combination of sweet, desperate, fearful and overwhelmed with sadness and joy. He had me mezmerized. Anthony is, and always will be the definitive Mark. There is no one who will ever be able to match his depth and understanding of this person. He completely nails the quirkiness in voice and movement that this role demands.

I am very fortunate to be able to experience live theatre on a regular basis. There is nothing like it.

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Something's Fishy

After a few years, I decided to tackle setting up my fish tank again. Here are some of its funky inhabitants. The first one is my favorite - they are very small and called Endler's Livebearers from Venezuela - I will be getting a female today so they can breed and have a family :-)




Dalmation Lyretail Molly
Sunset Fire Platy

Neon Tetra





Nothing Going On But The RENT

My inner fangurl is making a special appearance for the next six weeks. They are back..... and so are "the pants".



Last Tuesday, I made the first of a few pilgrimages to the Nederlander to see the boys. Adam and Anthony.... what can I say. The chemistry these guys have together is undeniable and palpable. It was so special to see them reprise their roles. They didn't skip a beat. It was perfect and seemed like time stood still. I felt like it was 1996 again when I first sat in my seat at the theatre and watched this incredible piece of work with sheer amazement and joy. If you were there during that time, you felt the impact of Jonathan Larson's clear vision on what was happening in NYC at the time.... he was so on target emotionally that it is not surprising the piece is now a benchmark in the transformation of what is presented Broadway.

It is no secret to those who know me that I have a "special" place in my soul for Adam Pascal.

One thing Leads To Another....

The people at my Dr.'s office really need a lesson in "followup skills". The details are boring, so I won't get into it - but it was very frustrating. Of the two previous tests, one showed absolutely nothing and the other leads me to another specialist and another potential uncomfortable procedure. I will know more after seeing him at the end of the month. Two tests down - two, possibly three to go. While I am definitely getting anxious about all this, I am amazed at the technology that is involved. Until you need it, you don't realize the advances in medical technology. It truly is astounding. So on I go :-)

Oh, and as a
side note... I'm not the "so and so" from Southern Boy's blog!